Simon Jordan defends Bristol City's stance of opting against Reading's £20 ticket initiative

Simon Jordan has defended Bristol City's stance opting against Reading's £20 away ticket incentive but believes the Championship should follow in the Premier League's footsteps by introducing a cap.

The Royals have written to every club in the second tier, offering away supporters a capped £20 ticket if the price is reciprocated at the opposition ground. In the top flight, Premier League clubs have recently agreed to stick with the £30 cap on away tickets until 2025 with the scheme introduced in the 2016-17 season.

As it stands, five clubs have joined the initiative: Cardiff, Huddersfield, Blackburn, Swansea and Watford. However, City won't be joining the ranks because financially it wouldn't make sense.

An approximate 30 per cent reduction in the prices would have to be levied onto home supporters in order to keep the revenues at an acceptable level. It's an argument that former Crystal Palace chairman Jordan agrees with given the current financial climate of the Championship.

Speaking on talkSPORT, he said: "In the Championship, the average fill is 63 per cent. The irony of Reading, who have ruined themselves financially, who have the highest ratio of wages to turnover and then try to moralise how people should and shouldn't be pricing their tickets is almost beyond repel.

"This is one of the leagues that has been affected most by Covid and losses, it's the league that is bleeding out of its eyes the most because of the proximity to the Premier League.

"The average attendance is about 18/19,000 and the average capacity is about 30,000. In the Premier League, the attendance is 97 per cent. Of course, they can do £30 tickets and they get hundreds and millions of pounds of TV revenue.

"There has to be a halfway house